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...we must develop democratic systems that are not exploited by the few at the expense of the rest of us. The extraordinary power of today's transnational corporations and of other groups of wealthy, special interests represents a failure in the process of democracy. It leads to a sense of futility and apathy or anger in those who are exploited or left out of the decision-making that effects their lives. CED Brochure, 1995 |
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From the CED video entitled "Democracy In Time:"
Wealthy special interests dominate government decision-making via their funding of political candidates and their parties. These common assumptions are supported by documentation available at The Center for Responsive Politics. They report, for example, that $1.6 billion dollars were spent on the 1996 federal elections, yet fewer than 1/4 of 1% of Americans donated as much as $200. Some contributors now give more than a half million dollars, and evidence supports the contention that large donations are frequently rewarded with legislation that favors the donors.
Proposed Solution? It is clear that we have to stop the financing of political campaigns by wealthy special interests. Public financing of (noncareerist) political campaigns is a necessary expense of democracy and the only logical answer to control of elections by special interests.
Independent Electoral Councils invested with real power to guarantee fair campaign and election procedures would help.
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The Story of Modern Democracy (cont.): critically necessary to the further extensions of the democratic franchise toward full participation of the whole adult population and to the further evolution of democratic processes around the world. The third country to reach minimal criteria for definition as a modern democracy was France in the 1870's--following France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War and the |
establishment of The Third Republic.
We should remember that despite obvious defects in all early as well as all present day democracies, the economic crises, civil wars, wars among nations, and other tests of time have demonstrated (in general, of course) an increasing adaptability, strength, and authenticity of democratic practice. The next nation to join the developing set of Next |